“Let Every Soul Be Jesus’ Guest” Scripture: Romans 15:7, Luke 15:1-2 Sermon Transcript for August 2, 2009 Pastor Andy Kinsey “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has Romans 15:7
Prayer of Preparation O Lord, as you have welcomed us to this place so may we welcome you as we listen for your Word of truth and grace, in Christ’s name. Amen. The Message This morning we are kicking off a five-week sermon series based on the popular book by Bishop Robert Schnase called the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. In this book Bishop Schnase identifies five characteristics that are consistently and persistently practiced in vibrant and fruitful congregations. Those five practices are – Radical Hospitality As God’s people, when we share in these core practices, we participate in building up the body of Christ; we imitate Jesus. From hospitality to worship to faith development to mission and service to generosity – God’s Spirit shapes us into a vital and faithful church through these practices. I use the words people and church intentionally because these practices are communal; they are what we do together. We practice hospitality together. We practice worship together. We do these things together as a way of sharing in God’s mission. Radical hospitality is simply the first step we take in walking the Way Jesus did, in building up the church./1/ We begin with those thoughts in mind because it would be virtually impossible to understand the Christian faith if we did not practice hospitality. Throughout the Bible, it is a moral imperative that we welcome the stranger. In the Old Testament, for example, there are commandments to provide hospitality to strangers and aliens. There are instructions not to oppress the refugee or immigrant but to care for the refugee and immigrant. God gave the people these commandments and reminded them that, as the Lord provided for them in Egypt, so they would need to provide for others in the Land (Leviticus 19:33-34, Deuteronomy 10:19, 26:10-12). It’s what God’s law taught – strangers must be treated with the same respect one would wish for oneself./2/ Therefore, the practice of hospitality is a practice that is to flow out of our own gratitude for God’s past care and guidance: We show hospitality because that’s what God has shown to us: once we were strangers, but through Christ’s death on the cross, God has welcomed us by breaking down the dividing wall of hostility. (Ephesians 2:12-13)! Practicing hospitality, then, is as much about an attitude of thanksgiving as it is about a commandment to obey, for where there is no hospitality, you can expect to find ingratitude. Where there is no hospitality, you can expect to discover indifference, apathy (Ephesians 2:14). This is certainly what Jesus encountered throughout his ministry. For example, when Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors, when he touched the leper, when he forgave the prostitute, when he welcomed and taught children – he was not only breaking down barriers but he was also offering hospitality; he was demonstrating in his own life that God’s love is intended to welcome the least, the last, and the lost (Luke 15:1-2, Mark 10:13-16, John 8:1-11, Matthew 25:24, Luke 7:21-23). That’s why we need to keep the word “radical” in front of hospitality. To be sure, we could use other adjectives like “intentional” and “passionate” to describe hospitality. Those definitely work! But in a world that does all it can reduce the gospel to feelings or slogans, the word “radical” is necessary: it is necessary because it reminds us that we don’t set the standard: Jesus does! Jesus said, “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. I was naked and in prison, and you helped me. I was lonely, and you came to me” (Matthew 25:35). It’s a message in keeping with what Paul says in Romans, where he writes that “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (5:8). That is, while we were yet strangers, God did not withhold hospitality from us! God did not first say to us, “You first have to get things straightened out in your life before I will welcome or accept you.” That’s not the gospel! Rather, the gospel says that, while we were yet sinners, Christ showed hospitality to us by dying on a cross. Christ brought us into the new covenant while we were yet strangers to the covenant (Ephesians 2:10ff). Hospitality as Christian Ethics In other words, on the cross Jesus did not refuse to acknowledge us, but welcomed us with open arms. He didn’t stop talking to us once we entered the door of the sanctuary, but he took us by the hand to show us the Way. He made eye contact with us, revealing the depths of God’s goodness. Radical hospitality! It’s why Paul can write to the church in Rome: “Welcome one another…as Christ has welcomed you” (Romans 15:7). In a phrase, do all you can to offer hospitality! Do all you can welcome one another at the Welcome Center, and in the pews, and at the doors, and in Sunday school, and in the choir, and in the fellowship hall, in the kitchen. If necessary, take persons by the hand and invite them to a study or group. We all are called upon to practice hospitality; every person, every group, every class, every team is called upon to welcome others in Jesus’ name. And not simply among strangers, but also among friends! It is not simply hospitality to the stranger in our society that is in peril, but hospitality among friends and families and spouses that is in trouble; in many families, for example, it is simply an act of hospitality to eat together! Some of the most pressing moral and political problems we face in this country deal with hospitality: Who gets fed?, who gets shelter?, who gets welcomed into this world?, who gets cared for?, are all matters of hospitality. Another point is that, in practicing hospitality, we also open up ourselves to change, for in welcoming the stranger, we also may, as the Letter to the Hebrews maintains, entertain angels unawares (13:2). In welcoming and helping the stranger, we open up ourselves to God in surprising and unexpected ways.
I had this experience several yeas ago when I was on Renewal Leave. Maybe you can relate. To be sure, I was the recipient of radical hospitality. I was in Germany waiting for Peggy and the kids to join me. I had been on a study tour of Eastern Europe, learning about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Following the trip, I decided to stay for several days at our Methodist Seminary in southern Germany. There were a few people there I wanted to meet, not to mention the fact that I was tired. In this small school the folks there welcomed me with open arms. In fact, after a few hours in the building, I had been invited to attend a couple Bible studies and eat with several families. In one of the studies, we sang and prayed together, and then we, of course, studied the Bible. And the lesson we studied was from the Psalms – Psalm 42:1: “Wie der Hirsch lechzt nach frischem Wasser, so schreit meine Seele, Gott, zu dir.” Translation: “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my heart longs for you, O God.” Psalm 42:1 was the theme verse for my Renewal Leave! And I thought to myself, “Okay, Lord, what are you trying to say to me?” That was at the beginning of my leave. Near the end I spent about a week to ten days in a Monastery in Minnesota, living with Benedictine monks, and one day, as I was eating breakfast, I noticed this very large mural on the wall. It was a picture of a fountain with water flowing out of it and two deer drinking from it. Below it was a caption in Latin. Since I failed Latin in high school, I asked one of the brothers, “What does that say?” He said, “That’s Psalm 42:1 – “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.” If there is one thing I/we learned as a family traveling overseas and throughout this country it was the importance, as well as the blessings, of radical hospitality. And that’s only one example! At the core of the gospel way of life is the Last week Pastor Bob mentioned Fred Craddock. I was blessed to have Dr. Craddock in seminary. I can remember one day the story he told about serving a church in the mountains of Tennessee. He was just out of seminary, and he had been called to serve a beautiful little church near Oak Ridge. New families were pouring into the community. It was exciting. What an opportunity to reach out and welcome folks into the church! After all, the church was in a good location, it had beautiful architecture; it had all it needed to make a difference and welcome others! Years later Dr. Craddock and his wife, Nettie, returned to that church. And driving up they noticed all the cars in front. What’s this? Maybe the church was doing well after all; maybe it decided to reach out! What they realized, though, was something different: the church had become a restaurant, with all kinds of people eating together, rich and poor, black, and white, young and old, Jew and Gentile, male and female – all eating together. There were more people in that church as a restaurant than when it was a church! “Do you suppose,” Dr. Craddock asked, “the restaurant knows something the church doesn’t?” Closing Invitation Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you! It’s both a command and a practice. It’s also an invitation. In a moment, we will sing a great hymn by Charles Wesley; the opening lines say it all: “Come, sinners, to the gospel feast; let every soul be Jesus’ guest.” It’s a hymn that reminds us that it’s only by God’s grace that we can come to Christ’s table. For surely the gift we receive we don’t deserve, and we definitely haven’t earned it, and we most assuredly can never repay it; and yet, it’s a gift God has given nevertheless: that while we are yet sinners Christ showed his hospitality to us by dying on a cross, by offering up his own life for us. It’s what we celebrate this morning as we come to the table, and it’s what we cherish in our hearts as we give God the thanks and praise for his outlandish and amazing and extravagant and risk-taking and intentional and passionate, and, yes, radical, hospitality! Welcome! Amen.
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